Donald Maass Literary Agency

Kirkus: The daughter of a famous self-help author struggles when she must join a tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of her mother’s bestselling book, Letters to My Someday Daughter.

Logical, driven, precise Audrey is everything Camilla St. Vrain, her yoga-practicing, emotionally distant, image-conscious mother, is not, but she still winds up accompanying her on a nationwide press tour. This means that Johns Hopkins–bound Audrey must give up a place in a prestigious summer program for pre-med students at UPenn that her similarly ambitious boyfriend is attending. Along for the tour is Sadie, the accomplished young doctor Camilla hired to introduce Audrey to medical professionals around the country. They’re also accompanied by three spontaneous interns, Cleo, Mick, and Silas. Audrey’s evolving relationships with each of them, but particularly with Silas, to whom she is quickly drawn, turn out to be the catalyst she needs to re-examine many of her thoughts about herself and her place in the world. Audrey’s transformation from non-emotive and somewhat flat to multidimensional is portrayed with convincing complexity and appealing measures of both humor and earnestness. Some readers may anticipate the twist toward the end, but it still adds an interesting layer to this contemporary drama. Most characters read white; Chloe is Japanese American. Sadie is married to a woman. There’s a brief, entertaining encounter with a character from O’Clover’s Seven Percent of Ro Devereux (2023).

Publishers Weekly: An 11-year-old navigating friendship troubles, mercurial blended family dynamics, and questions surrounding his sexual identity wishes to disappear—and abruptly does—in this heartwarming adventure by Hutchinson (Howl). Hector Griggs, who attends St. Lawrence Catholic School for Boys, isn’t a sports star like his older stepbrother. Instead, Hector prefers solitary activities such as reading, playing piano, and hanging out with his only friend, Blake. But Blake’s new pals constantly bully Hector, and when a major fight puts Blake and Hector’s friendship on the outs, Hector discovers that he can turn himself invisible at will. Now undetectable, he encounters invisible classmate Orson, who everyone believes has been missing for three years. As rumors of ghosts and rampaging monsters start swirling around school, Hector must save Orson and win back Blake from his unsavory new crew, all while evading frightening creatures. A subplot involving an undercover agent from a supernatural organization is somewhat thinly developed. Hutchinson nevertheless populates this optimistic novel with an organically diverse cast that helps to ferry insightful lessons about empathetic listening and problem-solving, broadening one’s horizons, and dealing with bullies, delivered via an entertaining series opener.